“It’s unfair when we overlook ours and we put all of this on [the Oscar],” Mo’nique told Martin. “We jump for joy to say ‘another one of us got it’ but I don’t remember the phone calls I received when I got nominated for the Image Award. I don’t remember the big powerhouse black folks calling me up and saying ‘baby, you got the Image Award.’ Now, when I got that Oscar award, that nomination, I got calls from everybody.”

The actress went on to say that, with that in mind, she hopes that black entertainers are beginning to shift their thinking to value recognitions like the Image Awards on par with mainstream awards.

“The moment we begin to understand what we mean to us, we get better,” she said.

Be sure to listen to “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, weekdays at 7 a.m. EST and watch at 9 a.m. EST on TV One.